A Russian court has ordered the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which brings oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea, to suspend activity for 30 days.
The CPC, which handles about 1 percent of global oil and includes U.S. majors Chevron and Exxon, said on July 6 the ruling to suspend its operations concerned issues related to the handling of oil spills and that the consortium had to abide by the ruling.
In a statement posted on its website, the CPC added that it planned to appeal against the decision.
"The Caspian Pipeline Consortium acts within the legal framework of the Russian Federation and is forced to execute the court ruling. The ruling will be appealed in accordance with the procedure established by law," the CPC said in the statement.
Some 80 percent of Kazakhstan's oil exports flow through the terminal in Russia's southern port city of Novorossiisk. The terminal can transport 67 million tons of oil annually.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Russian oil over the Kremlin's unprovoked war on Ukraine but has said flows from Kazakhstan through Russia should run uninterrupted.
The CPC said on July 6 that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko ordered regulators, including industrial safety regulator Rostekhnadzor, to inspect the facilities of the Russian part of the consortium.
It said that the inspection had found some "documentary" irregularities on plans how to tackle oil spills. An oil spill occurred at the terminal last year.
An inspection by Russian authorities found that documentation for emergency plans to deal with oil spills was incomplete, the CPC said.
The authorities originally gave the CPC until November 30 to correct the violations, but the regional transport regulator unexpectedly demanded the terminal's closure on July 6, which the court approved.
The court said the stoppage was necessary to prevent possible environmental damage, Interfax reported late on July 5.
The pipeline's operations have already been interrupted by damage to the Black Sea's terminal equipment this year.
